Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. New York man charged with threatening to kill Muslim U.S. lawmaker Ilhan Omar

A 55-year-old New York man has been arrested and charged with threatening to assault and murder Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, a Muslim U.S. Congress member from Minnesota, federal prosecutors said. Patrick Carlineo Jr. of Addison, New York, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday in a statement. U.S. attorney general orders probe into mistreatment of gay employees

U.S. Attorney General William Barr said he was ordering certain Justice Department offices to investigate possible discrimination targeting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees after an internal gay affinity group complained of low morale. In an April 4 letter to DOJ Pride released on Friday, Barr said he was "troubled" by the group's concerns, and was directing the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to "investigate and address allegations of discrimination." American tourist kidnapped in Ugandan park rescued

An American tourist and her driver have been rescued unharmed after being kidnapped in a national park in southwestern Uganda last week, the Ugandan authorities said on Sunday. Kimberley Sue Endecott, 35, was abducted by gunmen in Queen Elizabeth National Park, near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo, on April 4. The kidnappers later demanded a ransom of $500,000 for her release. Herman Cain says he faces 'cumbersome' vetting for Fed board seat

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said he will face a "cumbersome" process as he is vetted for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board. In a video posted on Facebook late Friday, Cain said he must turn over records from 50 years in business, including numerous professional jobs, service on boards, and extensive speeches. U.S. government says it could take two years to identify families separated at border

It could take the U.S. government up to two years to identify potentially thousands of additional children separated from their parents by the authorities at the southern border, the government said in a court filing. The filing late on Friday outlined for the first time the Trump administration's plan for identifying which family members might have been separated by assessing thousands of records using a combination of data analysis, statistical science, and manual review. Exclusive: Pain-care specialist agrees to testify against Purdue, other drug makers - court documents

A physician ally of Purdue Pharma LP whose views helped drive the explosive growth in the use of addictive pain relievers for common aches and pains in the United States has agreed to testify against the OxyContin maker and other drug companies, newly disclosed court records show. Dr. Russell Portenoy, a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, was an early advocate for the use of opioids for chronic pain, a position he shared in medical journal articles, with regulators, at physician conferences and in other forums. He also was named as a defendant in some of the lawsuits filed by cities, counties and states seeking to hold opioid makers - including Endo and Mallinckrodt Plc - and their distributors liable for the cost of the U.S. opioid epidemic. Former South Carolina Senator Ernest 'Fritz' Hollings dies at 97

Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, a sharp-tongued moderate Democrat with a booming voice and deep Southern drawl who advocated fiscal discipline in Washington during 38 years representing South Carolina in the U.S. Senate, died on Saturday at age 97. Andy Brack, who served as spokesman for Hollings during his Senate career, said he died early Saturday of natural causes at his home on the Isle of Palms. Suspicious blazes destroy three predominantly black Louisiana churches

Federal and state officials in Louisiana are investigating suspicious fires that destroyed three predominantly black churches in 10 days in one mostly rural parish, authorities said on Saturday. Investigators have not concluded whether the three fires at Baptist churches in St. Landry Parish, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of New Orleans, were connected, said Ashley Rodrigue, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Fire Marshall's Office. Bill Cosby settles defamation lawsuit brought by seven women

Convicted sex offender Bill Cosby on Friday settled a federal defamation lawsuit brought by seven women who said the former actor and comedian sexually assaulted them and wrongly called them liars when they went public with their charges years later. The settlement ends a court fight that predates the 81-year-old's conviction a year ago for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University administrator, in 2004. Cosby is currently serving a 3- to 10-year sentence for that crime, though his lawyers plan an appeal. Courting black voters, Bernie Sanders draws personal contrast with Trump

Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders, courting the black voters who did not support his 2016 White House run, drew a sharp personal contrast on Friday with what he called President Donald Trump's racist policies. Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, told a crowd of African-American activists that his push for economic equality, including universal healthcare, free public college and a higher minimum wage, would help ease the country's racial wealth gap.